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Pandemic Diary XIV

Fuck this pandemic!


Last Friday I went to dinner at a friend's house. There were five of us: Nicci and Catherine, two friends from bridge (Nicci is my most regular partner), and their husbands, Michael and John, and me.


This was a big step for me. I've visited friends on just one other occasion. I usually try very hard to minimize contact with others, but here we were, all sitting around the table together, no masks. 


We all take a leap of faith that our friends are being as diligent about social distancing, hand-washing, and mask wearing as we are. We take leaps of faith when we go to the store or eat at a restaurant. We could try to stick to zero risk, or as close to zero as possible. We could stay home, relying entirely on delivery for the things we need and disinfecting all of it, and avoiding all in-person human interaction. But I think most of us would rather accept some amount of risk in exchange for the basic human desire to connect with other people and live some semblance of a normal life. 


For me, a semblance of a normal life involves travel. So when Nicci first mentioned that she and Michael were going on a trip to Copper Canyon with Charter Club in late October, along with Catherine and John and some other people they know, and asked if I would want to come, I was very tempted. Charter Club is the travel company that ran the tour to Cuba I went on with my friend Cathy in January. That was a very good tour, and Rosie and Carlos, the owners, are terrific. Plus Copper Canyon has been one of the top destinations in Mexico I've been eager to visit.



 


Tempted as I was, I was also very uneasy about doing this. It would mean traveling by airplane, riding in a van, and spending a lot of time in close quarters with other people under circumstances where social distancing would be difficult or impossible.


I went to the Charter Club office on Monday and had a chat with Carlos. He described the tour and it was clear that for the most part it would be just the group traveling, about 10 or 12 people, with whom there would be a lot of contact. The plane, the train ride through the canyon, the hotel, and restaurants, all would be relatively sparse. But that wouldn't protect me from the other tour participants, or them from each other. What if there is one person on that tour who is infected with Covid-19 but asymptomatic? 


I asked my family what they thought. They said if I have doubts, I shouldn't go.


I slept on it for several nights, and it wasn't good sleep. 


I posted the question on the Rick Steves forum and got some great responses.


And I ultimately, and very regretfully, have decided not to go.


But as several people have told me, Copper Canyon isn't going anywhere. It will still be there after there is a vaccine and I can travel safely.


Still, fuck this pandemic!


2 comments:

  1. Yes it's getting old, tiresome, boring, I find myself crying for stuff that used to be just slightly depressing. We have a long way to go yet ☹️

    ReplyDelete
  2. You did the right thing, Lane. We have gone out to eat twice since March 8. Better safe than sorry.

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